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U.S. Chamber 2026 AI report: what it means for your team
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce's 2026 small business report says 66% of small businesses now use AI, up 8 points from 2025, and 95% of those are working to upskill their employees (U.S. Chamber). For most owners, that leaves two questions: where AI fits in the work, and how to train people to use it there.
Photo by Blake Wisz on Unsplash
The report came out on October 2, 2026, from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Technology Engagement Center. It is the fifth edition of their study on how small businesses use technology (Empowering Small Business, 2026).
I pulled out the parts that matter for a business with 10 to 250 people, and what I would do with them this month.
What the 2026 report found
Every figure in this list comes from the U.S. Chamber's 2026 report page.
- 66% of small businesses now use AI, up 8 points from 2025.
- 95% of small businesses using AI are working to upskill employees, and 47% provide on-the-job training.
- Small businesses using AI are at least 7 points more likely to report sales, profit, and workforce growth than those that do not.
- 47% say AI is creating jobs today. 6% say it is enabling headcount reductions.
- Six in ten worry about higher litigation and compliance costs from a patchwork of state privacy and AI laws.
What it means if you run a small business
With two in three small businesses already using AI, the advantage now comes from where you use it: inside the work that repeats every week, like replying to new leads, onboarding clients, and writing reports.
The training number is the one I would watch. Almost every business that uses AI is trying to upskill its people, and about half do it on the job. In my view, on-the-job training only sticks when the job is clear. If nobody has decided which tasks AI should take, people learn a few prompts and go back to working the old way.
The worry about state laws is real, too. A one-page AI policy is the simplest place for a small team to start: which tools are approved, and what never gets pasted into them. That is not legal advice, and a lawyer should see it before you rely on it.
Where to start this month
Here is the order I would use. If you want help finding the first two workflows, that is what the free call is for. It is part of how I do AI consulting for small businesses. You can also take the AI readiness assessment, which is eight questions and takes about 90 seconds.
- Pick two workflows that repeat every week and cost you time or leads. That is where AI goes first.
- Write a one-page AI policy: the approved tools, and what never goes into them, such as client data.
- Train people on those two workflows, using your own documents, instead of on AI in general.
- Check in after 30 days. Is the work faster, and is anyone still doing it the old way?
Free assessment
Not sure where AI fits yet?
Eight questions, about 90 seconds. You get a score out of 100, your weakest area, and the first workflow I would build.
Written by
Milos Vranes
I train small business teams to use AI on their own work, and I build the automations that come after. I have built automation systems for five years.
Anthropic certified and a verified n8n creator. Every system I write about is one I have built.